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No. 77,586, PATENTED MAY 5, las

J. R. CLARKE.

WASTE GATE.

@eine tates d'atrnt @fitta Letters Patent IVO.l 77,586, elatedllfag/ 5,1868.

IMPROVBD WASTE-GATE.

a'tlge Saphire referat it in ilgrr'trtters atent mit mating pitt nt ilge' smut.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY OONCERN:

Beit known that I, JOSHUA R'. CLARKE, of Cohocs, in the county of Albany, and in 'the State of New York have invented anew and improved Self-Regulating Supply and Waste-Gate for hydraulic purposes :and I dokhcrcby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming partl of this specification, in which dra'wing- Figure 1 is a vertical section 'of a water-gate made according to my invention.

Figure 2 is ahorizontal section. l

This invention relates to apparatus for regulating the height of water in basins or canals, and it consists in an automatic water-gate, which is opened and closed by means of the rise andl fall. respectively', ofthe water in a canal or basin, above or below the proper level.

This invention is applicable both asa supply and as a waste-gate. In this example I have'shown it arranged for operation as a waste-gate. I

The apparatus, when used as a waste-gate, is.plaeed in the bank of the basin or canal which is toibc regulated, or in a flume or channel that communicates therewith, so that the water of the basin or canal can i'low directly to the apparatus.` In this example I have shown it placed in a flume, A, which communicates, at the line II, with such basin or canal, the rear of saidilume being closed by a'wall, E.

In said ume are two open vertical cylinders or tubes B C, whereof one, B, is loose in the flume, so that it can be raised and lowered, as hereinafter explained, and the other, C, is fixed, and goes through the bottom of tho flume. The bottom of the fiume, below cylinder B, has au opening, Gr, which communicates with the level below, which receives the water that passes the waste-gate. The said cylinders are separated from each other by a wall, F, which divides the portion of the flume occupied bythe apparatus into two divisions, so that each division communicates directly with the canal or basin.

This separation of the cylinders, or their isolation from each other, is necessary for the successful operation of the apparatus, because if they were not separated, but were placed together in the same open space, the gate and follower' would be kept constantly vibrating with the rise and fall of the water lin the fiume, which would fluctuate more or less rapidly, according to the size or breadth of the 'fiume andthe size of the gateopening.

'The wall F serves, furthermore, to support a`walking-beam, D, whose endscxtend'over said cylinders. That end of the beam whichis over cylinder Bis attached thereto in such a manner that the cylinder will move with the beam, the mode of attachment being, in this example, by means of a connecting-rod, I, or other vsuitable device, whose lower end is attached to a diaphragm, J, in the lower part of said cylinder. Said diaphragm is perforated, so that any water that finds its'way into the cylinder B can escape without being detained therein, passing thence through the opening G in the bottom of the Hume.

The cylinder B is guided, in its vertical movements, in guides K K, as suown in the drawing.' Its lower edge, I), is provided with packing, or is otherwise so constructed that it will make a sufficiently tight joint, when it is down on the bottom of the ume, to prevent the escape of water through lthe opening G, around which opening the lower edge, P, of said cylinder lits when it is down.

The other end of the walking-beam is connected, by a connectieg-rod, L, to a follower or piston, M, which is fitted loosely inthe fixed cylinder C, whose lower part is so made as gradually to increase in diameter, for

the purpose of allowing a more rapid discharge of water as the follower approaches the bottom of the cylinder.

When the follower is up at the position shown in blacl: outline, its edge comes close to the sidesof the cylinder, so that very little leakage takes place, and the water will be retained to a great extent, thereby insuring the loading of the follower, and its consequent descent in the cylinder, with only a slow discharge of water into cylinder C. The vibration of the walkingbeam is limited by a cross-beam, N, or other convenient device, so as to prevent the follower or piston M from dropping below the cylinder in which it moves.

The cylinder C is so arranged that its top shall be about as high as the level at which it is desired to maintain the water in the basin or canal, the cylinder B being made higher, so as to prevent water from running in at its top. v t I The weight of the cylinder B is greater than that of the follower or piston M, so that said cylinder B is always down in a position to close the openingG whcn the follower is not loaded by a preponderating weight of water. It will be perceived, consequently, that cylinder B constitutes a gate that controls the opening G.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Whenvthe water rises above 4the proper level, it runs over the top ot' cylinder C, land carries dowiythe follower or piston M, thereby causing the beam D to belvibrated, whereby the cylinder B is raised from oil' the bottom of the Hume, and the water 'is allowed to run oil' vthrough the opening G. When the water has been, by this means, lowered, so :is no longer to run inl-o cylinder C, the water found in said cylinder C will leak out between the edge of the4 follower or piston and the sides of the cylinder, and the cylinder or gate B will, by reason ,of its greater weight, overbalance the follower or piston M, and again descend around the opening G, so as to stop the escapcof water. And in this manner, whenever the water rises so as to run into cylinder C, the follower or piston M will again bc carried downwards, and the cylinder B be raised from oft the bottom oi the' iiume,and be kept sovraised or hoisted as long as the water is above the designed level, said cylinder B descending again to close opening G, whenever the water is .brought to the proper height.

These operations will be repeated automatically whenever the water rises above the proper level.

-The guides K K, .the partitionwall E, and the cross-beam N, are connected to the frame O, which frame does not extend solid .to the bottom of the flume, but constitutes a rack, and is so arranged as to permit the water to dow freely from the 'canal into the iurne, or other place where the apparatus is situated.

I do not limit myself tothe cylindrical form in making that part of the apparatus which controls the opening G, and constitutes the gate proper, for I canl substitute for cylinder B a gat-e 'of any other form, and can also modify the Term of the opening G, without departing from the principle of my invention. Neither do I limit myself to the form of the cylinder or well in which the follower M moves; but I claim any arrangement for automatically opening a water-gate, where the weight or force of surpluswater overbalances the weight of the gate. I

In applying my invention to governing the supplym of water to a canal or basin, I arrange the several parts so that the gate through which the supply-water comes will be 'closed by the follower-or piston M, when it descends in-cylinder G.

i The gate or cylinder B, whatever its form may be, whether round or square, hollow orsolid, is always so placed and arranged in the fiume, canal, basin, or other body of water where it is to operate, as to be wholly Vsurroundcdby the water, and with its top above the surface of the water whereby thereis always an equilibrium of pressure against the exterior of the gate, and it canbe hoisted and lowered with a v-ery small amount of -friction.

The said gate or cylinder B can be used for other purposes besides that for regulating the height of water, as, for example, it can be used simply as a Hood or other gate, for the discharge or admission of water, in which case the regulating-apparatus can be* omitted.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The water-gate B, constructed substantially as described, in combination with and connected to a follower 0r piston, M, moving in an open cylinder or well, C, substantially as shown. i

JOSHUA R. CLARKE.

Witnesses:

GUsTAv BERG, J. VAN SANTVOORD. 

